London Bike Show 2016

When I got the invite from Paul Mander-O’Beirne from Bike Swanky to attend the London Bike Show, my train ticket was immediately booked. The London Bike Show is the UK’s largest cycling exhibition and attracts a variety of cyclists. So whether mountain biking, BMX, cycle cross, road biking, a family ride at the weekend or commuting to work is your thing – there is plenty to see and do. The popularity and wide demographic of the show made it a perfect opportunity for Dirt Factory to meet new people and talk about our current crowd fund campaign.

Thursday I arrived and the first thing I wanted to do was to help Bike Swanky set up their exhibit stand – this is the least I could do in return for their generosity. At 1pm the doors opened to the public and the show was officially under way. I got the chance to talk to the early birds and refine my pitch ready for the next couple of days ahead. People love the concept of opening a fun indoor facility that appeals to a wide range of riders, most people were saying that Dirt factory ‘now gives them an excuse to travel up North’. Before I knew it I was on the tube back to my sister’s apartment where I will be staying the next few days.

Friday was a day of meeting with new and existing partners, including meeting and greeting the general public again. I caught up with Cotic, Cube, Hope and Halo, sponsoring Dirt Factory and displaying their product and brand is something they are very excited about. I met with Kiddimoto who supply a wide range of balance bikes, we are certainly keen to explore partnership options with Kiddimoto. Balance bikes are a great way to teach kids how to ride a bike. Having a fleet of balance bikes and a dedicated ‘Bike Crèche’ is what we are striving for at Dirt Factory – maybe one day a kid (who has learned to ride in Dirt Factory) will turn into a World Champion.

Friday also gave me the chance to speak to as many people as possible about Dirt Factory. People were excited and impressed with the whole indoor experience on offer, and went away eager to check out our crowd fund campaign – hopefully more investment to follow.

The weekend is now here and people are pouring through the doors. Ongoing right now is the ‘Air to the Throne’, a mountain bike trick competition with 10,000 Euros up for grabs. World Champion Rachel Atherton and bike legend Martyn Ashton will also be making guest appearances today.

My next stop is a meeting with Mobii, who operate a slick wireless timing system business. They are at the show timing Joost Wichmans Pump Track Battle series, riders race head to head on an identical race track, I’ve been having a go myself – super fun. The purpose of the meeting with Mobii is to fine tune our partnership as we don’t just want a timing system, we would like a user friendly booking system where customers can use contactless cards to enter the riding area at Dirt Factory, as well as being able to book online.

It is now approaching 12:00pm (Saturday), the plan now is to get back out there and spread the word about the Dirt Factory crowd fund, we have 17 days left to reach £300k, let’s go for it.